"I tried, but they had a difficult time understanding, especially Captain Sheridan. What were you going to do? Kill them yourself, or have me kill them?"
G'Kar stiffened his broad shoulders. "It is still my duty to attend to this problem. I am sorry you were involved, but you have been ordered to appear before the Kha'Ri, and you must do so. I hope that will give me enough time."
"No," said Ivanova. "We may not have any legal ground to stand on, but we're not going to stand by and watch you or anyone else commit murder. Isn't there some other way you can mend things with these people?"
G'Kar scowled and shook his fists at the ceiling, as if he were dealing with children. "Why don't you meet the Du'Rog family, and then you can tell me how to deal with them. As far as Mi'Ra is concerned, I think a blade to the throat is the only option, but I am willing to be talked out of it."
Na'Toth shook her head. "The danger to his life is very real. If we do nothing, they will come to the station and try to fulfill the Shon'Kar."
"All right," said Ivanova, "I am willing to meet with them, unofficially, and warn them against ever coming to the station to cause trouble. I think that's about all we can do." She looked at G'Kar. "But you have to agree to come back to life."
"Of course," said the ambassador. "Do you think I want to remain a nonentity? I would prefer that we wait until our return to Babylon 5, so that I can be discovered alive in the escape pod. While I'm on Homeworld, I will wear a disguise."
Garibaldi laughed. "A disguise? Give me a break."
"It fooled you."
"What?" said Garibaldi.
"Yes, I passed you this morning in Down Below. I was wearing the crude robe of an acolyte of the Eighth Circle. You looked right at me."
"I'll be damned. That was you."
"None other."
Ivanova shook her head. "The whole purpose of this trip is to meet with your council. We're not going to lie to them about you being dead."
"Please," said G'Kar, "don't lie to them, but don't tell them that I accompanied you on this ship. If you want to say you have new evidence that I may be alive, so be it, but give me a chance to move freely. Give me at least a day."
She gazed at him. "Will you try to kill her?"
"Not if you are with me," the Narn promised.
"Wait a minute," said Garibaldi. "There was an attack on one of my men in Down Below. Did you have something to do with that?"
"I have a disguise," insisted G'Kar, "complete with identicard. Why should I need to attack anyone?"
They heard a sound, and they turned around to see a crew member drop off the ladder into the intersection.
He glanced suspiciously at them for a moment, then went down another corridor.
"There are dangers other than the Du'Rog family," said G'Kar in a low voice. "The Du'Rog family may be the most vocal of my enemies, but they are not the only ones. I thought being dead would give me freedom, but instead it has made me a prisoner."
"Yeah," said Garibaldi, "it's not much of a crime to kill a man who is already dead."
The Narn started back into the hatch, then turned around. "I will not see you again until we reach Homeworld. Believe me when I say that it means a great deal to me to have you here, willing to help me."
"We're not promising anything," said Ivanova. "There may be nothing we can do."
G'Kar smiled. "At least I am not facing them alone." He ducked through the hatch and slammed it shut behind him.
Dinner that night in the Narn mess-hall consisted of some rather evil-smelling meat simmering in a greasy gruel. The Narns used their fingers to eat, shoveling the food directly from their bowls into their mouths, but they gave their guests some tarnished spoons. Garibaldi sampled some of the gruel and pushed the meat around in his bowl, while Al Vernon dug in and ate with considerable gusto. The merchant even used his fingers to eat in the Narn fashion. Ivanova drank a lot of coffee and smiled a lot, but didn't eat much. The humans were seated at a table with Na'Toth, Captain Vin'Tok, his first mate, Yal'Tar, and the military attaché, Tza'Gur.
"Delicious lukroll" Al Vernon announced, licking his fingers. "My compliments to your cook. Oh, I have missed Narn cooking—the pungent spices, the zesty meats, the crunchy grains—it is truly the tastiest food in the galaxy."
Captain Vin'Tok beamed. "We have mitlop for dessert."
Al clapped his hands. "Mitlop! How wonderful! Made from fresh tripe?"
"Of course," answered the captain.
The merchant slapped his palms on the table. "Captain, can't we add an extra day or two on to our journey?"
Vin'Tok chuckled. "I'm afraid not. You have a memorial service to attend."
Thus far, noted Garibaldi, nobody had mentioned the fact that G'Kar was actually alive and well in the hold of the ship. He didn't know how many of the Narns knew about it, but he suspected that all of them did. It was as if G'Kar had come down with some terrible illness that nobody could bring themselves to discuss. Of course, Al Vernon didn't know G'Kar was alive, but he was probably the only one on the entire cruiser.
"Tripe for dessert?" asked Ivanova doubtfully.
"Sure," said Al. "You have to marinate it in pakoberry juice overnight. At least, that is the traditional method. It's tasty and pleasantly chewy."
Ivanova gulped. "You know, traveling always takes away my appetite."
"Not mine," said Al, going after another handful of lukrol.
Garibaldi thought it was time to broach the subject he'd been wondering about. "Captain Vin'Tok," he asked, "are you planning to wait for us, then take us back to Babylon 5?"
The Narn fixed him with a meaningful gaze. "The K'sha Na'vas is at your disposal for as long as you need her. We will remain in orbit, while a shuttlecraft will meet us and take you to the surface."
"Okay," said Garibaldi, feeling a bit better about things. He didn't want to be stuck on the Narn planet for weeks, waiting to find a public transport headed to B5. On the other hand, he knew that Vin'Tok owed his allegiance to G'Kar and the Narn Regime, not Earthforce. If they wanted to leave and G'Kar wanted to stay, they could be stuck.
Garibaldi rubbed his eyes, wondering how he had managed to get sucked into this situation. Preventing a murder, especially that of one of B5's ambassadors, was a noble goal, but how much hope did they have? The Narns themselves were oblivious to murder when a Blood Oath was involved, so maybe this was an exercise in futility. What would the Du'Rog family do when they found out they had been duped and G'Kar was still alive? For that matter, what would Captain Sheridan do? They wouldn't be able to contact the captain until they came out of jump.
He looked up to find Na'Toth studying him. "Mr. Garibaldi, you haven't eaten much."
"I don't think I feel too well," he answered, holding his stomach. He looked at Captain Vin'Tok. "May I be excused?"
"Certainly, Mr. Garibaldi. I understand. It's been a very stressful time."
"No kidding," said the chief, rising to his feet. "I'll see you later."
"May I have your mitlop?"asked Al Vernon cheerfully.
"Sure, Al, knock yourself out."
Garibaldi nodded to the crew members in the mess-hall and shuffled out. As the crew quarters were on the same deck, it was a short walk to his cabin, but he still had to pass the corridor that led to the hold. The guards were back on duty, and they gazed resentfully at him, perhaps because he had already had dinner and they hadn't. Or maybe they knew their watch was pointless, because the secret was out. At any rate, he saluted them and wandered on to his room.